How We Work

“I don’t really know of any other grant mechanism like this that comes with an innovation support team, a whole group of people with decades of experience that are all of a sudden invested, excited and coaching you on this project.”

– Nicole Calakos, MD, PhD, 2015 Harrington Scholar-Innovator

The Innovation Support Center (ISC) is a unique pharma capability within the Harrington Discovery Institute. Its panel members are experts in drug development who have all had successes with new approved drugs. Their efforts are dedicated to helping Harrington Scholars generate new drugs and therapies. HDI staff provide additional support in project management and business development.

From the time a Harrington Scholar enters the program, they are paired with a strategic advisor on the ISC panel. The pairing is based on the needs of their individual project. ISC strategic advisors can call on any of the panel members to provide additional expert advice across a wide range of discovery and development capabilities. The scholar and their team have monthly meetings with their ISC advisors where they discuss results and work together to create a strategy for developing a new drug candidate.